Gender Inequality in Premodern Societies Power % of societies Political leaders are always male 88 Leaders of kinship groups are always male 84 Women have equal political rights 10

Gender Inequality in Premodern Societies Gender relations % of societies There is a significant amount of wife beating 80 There is an explicit view that men should and do dominate their wives 67 Women have little or no control over their marital and sex lives. 64 Wives display institutionalized deference to their husbands 65 Rape is frequent 62

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Most societies then and now are patriarchal  Patriarchy means “rule of the fathers” – males dominate females  Patriarchy often stems from sexism – belief that one sex innately superior to other – Or is it the other way around (status inequality causes conflict?)  No clear case of Matriarchy, but women’s power sometimes does rival men’s (e.g., industrialized countries, especially Scandinavian countries)

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Roots of patriarchy?  Hunting and gathering roots?  Bible and other religious teachings?  Once patriarchy in place culture and socialization take over – Pink world, blue world – Interesting to imagine the various places males and females encounter these differences (family, media, school)

Focus of Chap 12 narrow - Sex Ratios - Males per 100 Females  Ratios rarely the same – many factors influence – Migration patterns – Wars – Infanticide – Other factors?  Until the end of World War II, men outnumbered women in the United States.  The 1990 census counted 95.5 males per 100 females.

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